WCCC Comments on DA for North Weston

The WCCC has lodged comments with ACTPLA on the development application for the North Weston. The Council comments are

Comments on Development Application No 201016680

Block 6 Section 98 North Weston

The Weston Creek Community Council [WCCC] would like to make some general comments on this Development Application.

1. Road Access for Initial Development.  Council has concerns that for the first stage of development, access to the site will be only from Unwin Place.  Council understands that this access will be approximately 60 metres from the Unwin Place/Streeton Drive intersection and that there is agreement between the developer and the School not to access the site through Unwin Place.  Council would not want construction traffic accessing the site through Hickey Court as this would mean this traffic driving between the two campuses of the Orana School.

Councils concern in all of this is the increase in use of the access point at the start of Unwin Place, particularly during the peak times for Schools.  Currently the Orana School with some 630 students and soon to be the Islamic School of Canberra with some 120 pupils, will access their Schools through Unwin Place.  This concern is of the mix of children and parents with construction traffic.  Any ability to have a second access point from Cotter Road to the site for the start of the development would be of benefit to everyone.

1. Road Access from the “new” Cotter Road to Hickey Court and the two Schools.  Council has looked at the proposed traffic volumes for the site.  Council is concerned with the proposed volumes for the part of Road 5 which joins the proposed development with Hickey Court.  Over time Council suspects that parents of children attending the two schools and people attending the Sikh Community Centre and the Baha’i Community Centre will seek to leave the Cotter Road at Road 5 and enter Hickey Place via that Road.  They may also depart that way so that the ability of the part of Road 5 joining Hickey Court would need to be assessed to cater for this traffic volume i.e. the 520 cars per day for the other parts of Road 5.

1. Screening and Buffer Plants for the Orana School Baha’i Community Centre and Sikh Community Centre.    Council would simply make the point that the separation of the Community Centres and the Orana School from the development is in the interest of all parties including future homeowners.  Council would ask for this part of the proposal to be considered carefully and perhaps the three parties could also be consulted to see that they are satisfied with the separation proposed by the developer.

1. Garbage Collection.  Council has concerns that Sections D and E will have no kerbside garbage collection although it is assumed that the collection will be from individual bins in the Street for Section D, Road 2 but there is no indication for the collection proposed for Section E, Road 10.  There is no collection point indicated in this part of the development.Â

1. Truck Access.  Council has concerns that there does not appear to be truck access to Road 10 in Section E.  This is important for a range of vehicles from the Fire Brigade to Removalists.   

Council would be pleased to discuss any or all of these matters if needed.

26 February 2010